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I still sort my works by the year, not by the subject, and it is getting harder and harder to find anything, but as IT people say: never touch the running system 😀 Made for exhibition in Peanut Gallery, Adelaide.

Random sketch. I like drawing bathtubs. A painting sketch for a large custom painting. During the craft and art market in Deloraine, Tasmania, we were encouraged to show the creative process, so I did some drawings and watercolour paintings and this is one of them. Some people ask where does inspiration come from. This little work was inspired by New Zealand (lakes and mountains), vintage swan boats (can’t remember where I saw them, was it The Simpsons episode?) and Australian nature – swans are black here.

This is one of the buildings in Deloraine, Tasmania.

Another work for the exhibition, this time Off The Kerb in Mebourne.

When I don’t know what to draw, I draw cafe scenes. I started this large painting in 2012 or so, but finished only in 2016. Well it was almost finished, just needed little touch ups but it took a while, really a while to get organised to finish this. It survived probably 4 house moving including interstate one, few falls from the shelve after a wind gust and getting a hole in canvas and other things. Koala in Deloraine again. Sneaky is my middle name.

I find it always exciting to make a new product in this case – enamel pins. Even if I know how it should look like it might be surprising (and I am hoping for the good surprises). This is a collection of my pins:

Everyone’s favorite – white cat.

I am thinking of remaking this so the dogs are easier to recognize as the grey one now looks like a giant cloud.

This is my little collection of badges.
Top row, left to right:
A souvenir my friend Justė brought me from her trip in Europe, Armando Milani badge.
I can’t remember where I got this, I think in some Asian groceries shop, somewhere very unusual. Or garage sale. I either paid 50 cents or got it as a free bonus.
Surf life saving badge. It was one of those support a cause stalls, you buy a lottery ticket or a small symbolic souvenir and all money go to the organisation. I really wanted to feel safe in the ocean. And a helicopter badge 🙂
Girl in traditional Lithuanian costume. Gift from a friend.

Second row.
Butterfly. Vintage one, from the box I told you about in the previous post.
Otter from the series “Latvian animals”.
Total babe by Lithuanian/international artist Eglė Žvirblytė.
Alpaca pizza delivery service by Melbourne’s super lovely superstar Cat Rabbit.

Third row.
Rad Rad Rad Sad by another cool illustrator Jose Mendez.
A bird from Riga, Latvian animals series.
Tandem Sloths by… me. I had to transfer one of my most popular characters into a badge.

You know, how every year one or another animal come into fashion? I mean, not a trend of one or another pet, but animal in design. I made this sketch in 2013 based on my own experience and tips from other people. Tried to do some research, but there is no any convenient information or statistics, so it is quite rough. In 80’s and early 90’s it would be dolphins and tigers, roaring lions and wolfs. Then came pandas, rabbits, foxes. From kids clothing to home wares – owls were everywhere. 2013 was all about pugs and french bulldogs. In 2014 we all were gone crazy for sloths. In 2015 every home ware shop still has a cockatoo lamp and you can get a print with this bird print in every artist market. And so on.
Animal trend comes and goes. One animal stays.
The Cat.

This is a new and more detailed take on the same topic. Feel free to comment if I missed something. For example I missed dolphins so popular in 90’s. Or elephants. Or do you have any ideas of the more recent trends? Like “Put a bird on it” 😀

And now Mr. Cat is available as an enamel pin.

When I was a child I found a tin box full of pins at home. My parents or grandparents collected them. They (pins) were magic! I still have few pins from that box. Seeing them in my accessories box I imagined making a pin of my own. And here it is. Cat, of course!

I am still working on a better packaging ant it would be great to tell the whole story about why it is called “Cat forever”, but meanwhile it comes like this.